The Baptist Bible Hour now comes to you under the direction of Elder Lasser Bradley Jr. Please get Thousand tongues to see my great redeem. It must Bye. The glories of my government. The triumphs of his This is La Serre Bradley Jr., inviting you to stay tuned for another message of God's sovereign grace.
Oh joyful we adore thee, God. Glory, Lord of love. Hearts unfold like hearts before thee. Hail thee as the Son above. For clouds of sin and sadness dried up.
Dark of doubt away. Giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day. All thy works with joys around thee, earth and heaven reflect thy rays.
Songs and angels sing around thee, center of. Broken grace, field and forest, vale and mountain, blossoming meadow, flashing sea. Shanting burn And glowing mountain calls. To rejoice in thee, thou art giving and forgiving, ever blessing, ever blessed, wellspring of the joy of living, ocean, death of happiness. Thou the Father, Christ our Brother, all who live in love are thine.
Teach us how to love each other, lift us to the joy divine. Join the mighty chorus which the morning stars began. Father love is reigning o'er us, brother love binds man to man. Ever singing march onward, victors in the midst of strife. Oh music lifts us onward in the triumphs of life.
As much as I love the summertime, I have to say that it is a difficult time for us because the Donations to support this work just traditionally declined during the summer months, and I understand that. People have a different schedule, and they're taking vacations, all well deserved. But if you want us to continue on the air we need support. particularly if you want us on your station, if you can help us and then mention the call letters of that station so that we know that we are receiving the support necessary. It'll be appreciated.
Our address is Baptist Bible Hour, Box 17037, Cincinnati, Ohio, 45217. and you can make a donation at our website at BaptistBibleHour.org. As we continue our series of messages from the Psalms. We continue to stand in amazement at the variety of subjects that are covered The constant exaltation of our God displaying His greatness, describing His attributes. Speaking repeatedly of his power, Reminding us of his amazing mercy and grace.
Also the Deep experiences that are described We get quite an insight into the struggles that God's people sometimes encounter as they endeavor to serve the Lord. And often we find in the same Psalm Words of praise. and then some specific instruction. As to how some of these principles should be applied in our life on a day-to-day basis. We want to turn at this time to Psalm 29.
And while there is an initial Coal For us to Praise and worship the Lord. There really is little instruction here, but yet Many practical lessons to be drawn from what we learn about God Himself. We read Psalm 29, beginning with the first verse. Give unto the Lord, O ye mighty. Give unto the Lord glory and strength.
Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name. Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. The voice of the Lord is upon the waters. The God of glory thundereth. The Lord is upon many waters.
The voice of the Lord is powerful. The voice of the Lord is full of majesty. The voice of the Lord breaketh cedars. Yea, the Lord breaketh. The cedars of Lebanon.
He maketh them also to skip like a calf. Lebanon and Surion like a young unicorn. The voice of the Lord divideth the flames of fire. The voice of the Lord shaketh the wilderness. The Lord shaketh the wilderness of Kadish.
The voice of the Lord maketh the hinds to calve. and discovereth the forest. and in his temple doth every one speak of his glory. The Lord sitteth upon the flood, yea, the Lord sitteth King forever. The Lord will give strength unto his people.
The Lord will bless his people with peace.
Sometimes it's easier for us to Remember what we have reviewed, if we can break it into sections. And I say that this psalm lends itself to three divisions. First, there is the call to worship. or praise Then there is Some lengthy discussion. of the voice of his power.
And finally, the blessing on his people.
So if we think about Praise Power And people We'll have something of an outline of what the Psalm contains. There are only eleven verses in this psalm. But the name of the Lord, the Lord Jehovah, is used 18 times.
So it is evident that there is great emphasis put upon. Who the Lord is, what God does, His greatness. and a call to worship or praise him. God does command us to worship him. to honor him.
to put him first. In the Ten Commandments, Exodus chapter 20, verse 3, he said, Thou shalt have no other gods before me. And in the thirty-fourth chapter, Of the book of Exodus, we read. In the twelfth verse, Take heed to thyself. lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest.
lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee. But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves. For thou shalt worship no other God. For the Lord whose name is jealous is a jealous God.
Now some people have a little difficulty when they turn to the Old Testament. And read that God has commissioned his people to go forward and wipe out their enemies. tearing down their altars, destroying their images. Say how does that Fit. The peaceful spirit that we see prevailing in New Testament times.
But you see, God being the sovereign creator. The one and only true and living God, the holy God, is to be worshipped. And no other God. is to be Recognized. and certainly not worshipped.
Since he is God and hates every evil way, He hates sin in whatever form it may take. He hates idolatry. And in that time under the old covenant, As his people were to go into the land of promise. It said, I want you to destroy. They're idols.
They're images. cut down their groves, which were the places where the people carried out this idolatrous worship. Said if you don't do that You're going to be influenced. Before long, you're going to say we want to be like those around us. He told them to drive out the inhabitants of the land.
And of course, from the human standpoint, somebody might reason and say that doesn't sound fair. But you must understand these people were Not honoring God. They were violating His law. They were worshiping idols, and God had. The right, according to his sovereign pleasure, to mete out judgment upon them.
And he tells them to remove these people from the land that he had given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob by covenant long before.
Now, of course, in this day, We do not fight our battles with swords or with guns. Christianity is not going to conquer by Physical force. Our enemies are strong. But they are brought down not by human effort. But by the power of the Holy Spirit of God, as His people diligently serve Him.
and his truth is proclaimed. But you see the warning here. God says, you shall destroy their altars. For thou shalt worship no other God. For the Lord whose name is jealous is a jealous God.
Not going to tolerate having my people worshiping false gods. There is then a call to worship. We turn to the book of Matthew. Chapter 4. These are the words of Jesus.
When Satan was tempting him in the wilderness. Satan had said. Verse 8, The devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them, and said unto him, All these things will I give thee if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan, for it is written, Thou shalt worship the LORD thy God, and him only shalt thou worship.
Now, you notice in each case, when Satan was tempting our Savior. that he stood against him by the use of Scripture.
So as it is written, he's quoting from the Old Testament scripture. Thou shalt worship. The Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve. Here then What we read in the Old Testament is confirmed for us in the New Testament As these words fall from the lips of our Savior Jesus Christ, that we are to worship Him alone.
Now we're living in a day when it's popular for people in an attempt to be broad-minded and very accepting to say, well, I don't think it makes all that much difference. If One person worships this God and another person worships that God. Is it not all the same? Or sometimes it's implied that no matter what name may be given God. What idea the person may have about what God is like and who God is, that we're all worshiping the same God.
Well, when you examine the scriptures, you'll see that's just not the case. There is one true and living God, the sovereign creator of heaven and earth. And God continually warns against worshiping other gods. In the Gospel of John chapter 4. Jesus was having a conversation with the woman at Jacob's well.
It said in the 23rd verse, but the hour cometh and now is when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth. For the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
So not everything that's called worship is worship. God would have us worship Him in spirit and in truth, worshiping the Father, the Father in heaven. the sovereign God of glory. Yeah. A man often distorts This call, this Responsibility to worship God, man.
devises his own ways. You remember In the book of Genesis where God required a sacrifice to be made. Typical of the ultimate sacrifice when Jesus Christ would go to the cross to redeem his people. But Kane Being a tiller of the field, decided rather than the blood sacrifice, I'm going to bring some of the harvest. I'm going to bring.
What I have labored to produce here, and I'll offer it to God, and God smothered the smoke of his sacrifice to the ground. Not just any sacrifice would do. God designated what must be done. There is but one approach. And just as it was necessary for the blood sacrifice to be offered to God.
Now, by the new and living way, through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we come boldly to the throne of grace. And there is but one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. There are not many ways. It's not left to the individual choice to say, well, here's the way I prefer to approach God. No, there's but one way.
You don't go through some earthly priesthood through some canonized saint. Through some designated individual that might plead your cause, there is but one mediator, one intercessor, that is Jesus Christ. It's the only way we can approach Jesus. our Heavenly Father. But man distorts it in a variety of ways.
We turn to the book of Malachi. and see how The people distorted it as they came into the land because, as we've already read in the book of Exodus, God was commanding them to tear down the groves and destroy the altars of these false gods. But the people failed. They didn't do that. And they were influenced.
And they did. Drift into idolatry. And then God had to punish his own people. But you're in Malachi chapter 1. It says in the seventh verse, Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar, and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee?
in that ye say the table of the Lord is contemptible. And if he offer the blind for the sacrifice, is it not evil? And if ye offer the lame and the sick, is it not evil? Offer it now unto the governor. Will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person, saith the Lord of hosts?
See, the people in that day being required to bring a lamb for a sacrifice would go out and look and find one that was half dead anyway and say, well, He's not going to make it. Let's take him up to the temple quick and we'll offer him to the Lord.
Well the Lord said you wouldn't offer that to the governor. You're going to offer God the scraps? How many times have you been guilty of that yourself? Let's think about your time to start with. Everybody you talk to today is busy, busy, busy, rushed, rushed, can't get it all done, can't keep up.
But what happens in your schedule? Your plans Your commitments, your travel, your entertainment, what you want to do is put first. And if you've got any time left, Then the Lord gets a little bit. Where should he be? First place, should he not?
He also reminds the people here. about their failure in their giving. Said in the tenth verse, Who is there even among you that would shut the doors for naught? Neither do ye kindle fire on mine altar for naught? I have no pleasure in you, saith the Lord of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand.
For from the rising of the sun even to the going down of the same shall be, my name shall be great among the Gentiles, and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering for my name shall be great among the heathens, saith the Lord. But ye have profaned it. in that ye say the table of the Lord is polluted, the fruit thereof, even his meat, is contemptible. You say, what a weariness it is. And you've robbed me.
You robbed me, he says, in tithes and in offerings. Once again, everything that we have is ours because God has given it to us. Do we even give God the scrap, so to speak? They will only give God what's left over. I've got this obligation, this commitment, this commitment.
Well, maybe the reasons you got some of those obligations because you were greedy to start with. You Yeah. Up to your ears. Because you weren't asking for divine direction in every aspect of life. How sad to find many people today struggling.
with a heavy load of debt. And they've gotten there. because they did not follow biblical principles. on the use of their resources. I sympathize with people who Get in such a predicament as a result of high medical bills and other things that they could not control.
But many times it's something that could be controlled. Do we put God first? These people were going through the form and routine they hadn't given up worship, they were still going up to the temple, but what were they doing? They were offering something to God. that God would not accept.
And they said the table of the Lord is contemptible. And they wanted to be rewarded for everything they did. Nothing was given out of pure love and gratitude. For the goodness and mercy of God. In the book of Matthew, chapter 15.
Again, the words of Jesus speaking to the Pharisees, he says, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. But in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. The Pharisees had a very high standard of morality. The Pharisees were very much respected as leaders of religion. But he says they draw nigh with their mouth.
They profess a lot of good things, but their heart is far from me. How easy it is to fall into that routine. You know what you're supposed to say? Even say the right things when you try to call on God in prayer. But you know, God knows the heart.
There's no need to make any pretense when you're approaching the Lord as though I'm going to pray a beautiful little prayer here, and God's going to be impressed. He knows what's on the inside. He sees deep within. He knows all your selfishness, all your pride, all of your greed, all of the lust of the flesh, all the worldly interests that may be dominating your heart, the idols of the heart. Oh, how quickly.
They arise. But God Close. to true worship. He calls To turn from error, to turn from Darkness and evil. We find the Apostle Paul preaching such a discourse in the 17th chapter of the book of Acts.
When he goes to Mars Scale, where people are there worshiping many gods. The 23rd verse of Acts 17. For as I passed by and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription to the unknown God, whom therefore ye ignorantly worship him, declare I unto you. And look where he starts: God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands. You see, the whole issue of creation was a crucial issue in that day, as it is in our day.
Why are there so many attacks? against the biblical account of creation.
Somebody might say this is just Your opinion, preacher. No, on the authority of God's word, I can tell you that the motivation is not a desire to be scientifically correct, but according to the first chapter of the book of Romans, the whole reasoning behind it is to get rid of God.
So Paul starts on that very point. It's God that made the world and all things that are therein. Verse 25: Neither is worshipped with men's hands as though he needed anything, seeing he giveth to all life and breath and all things. You have life, you have breath, you're alive today.
Somebody might say, I don't believe in God.
Well, the very God that you say you don't believe in is the one that keeps you breathing. If it were not for his mercy, You couldn't be here.
Now, notice what he says. Verse thirty. And the times of this ignorance God winked at, but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent, because he hath appointed a day. In the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained, whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, and that he hath raised him from the dead. Who is that man?
Obviously, it's Jesus Christ. He's the one that was raised from the dead. He's the one who will ultimately be the judge at the end of time. He says, therefore, Repent. God has been long suffering.
but now calls all men everywhere to repent, 1 John 5, verse 21 says, Keep yourselves from idols. Turn from false gods of every description. Whether it be some of the many gods that the people here at Athens were worshiping. Or whether it be the God that you have erected in your own heart. Turn from idols.
Calls then from error, and he calls in a positive way to true worship. The Psalm says that we're to give God Glory. That doesn't mean that we can add to his essential glory. But We declare his glory by acknowledging who he is, his greatness and his power.
So there are two aspects of worship. One, is to give God glory by praising Him. Secondly, the word worship also indicates that we are to bow down. That's not necessary that we bow down physically, but we must bow down in our hearts. You cannot claim that you have worshipped God unless you have bowed in submission to Him both in your mind and heart.
You might come here. sang these wonderful hymns of praise. Hear the message preached and even endorse it. But you've gone through the outward formality and routine of it unless in your own heart you have bowed before him in submission. Lord, I want thy will done, not mine.
Whatever you have for me in my life. In whatever capacity you want me to serve. Whatever sacrifices I may have to make. Whatever attachments I might have to turn from in order to serve you. That's what I want.
I worship you. I bow in submission. We should delight then In giving glory. His name. Give glory unto the Lord.
The glory due unto his name. Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. Give glory. Let's look at the book of 1 Chronicles. Chapter 16.
This is a theme that is found repeatedly in the scriptures, and you see how much of the language is identical here to what we find in this 29th Psalm. 1 Chronicles chapter 16. Reading In verse 23. Sing it to the Lord, all the earth. Show forth from day to day his salvation.
Declare his glory among the heathen. His marvelous works among all nations. Declare His glory. We praise him. As we praise Him in song, as we praise Him in our prayers, As we're praising Him by acknowledging the truth of His word and seeking to apply it in our lives, we We praise him when we tell others about the greatness of our God, his marvelous works.
We are to declare them, he says, among the heathen. For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised. He also is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the people are idols, but the Lord made the heavens.
Now, there's the vivid contrast. No matter whatever other God it might be, no matter how impressive that God might be, or how long he supposedly has been around, all other gods are idols, but the Lord, our God, the true God, has made the heavens. Glory and honor are in his presence. Strength and gladness are in his place. Verse 29, Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name.
Bring an offering and come before him. Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. We are to give him glory. We are to praise him. Praise you, Lord.
Or the Almighty God. King of prevention, O my soul, praise. That is important. He is thy help and salvation. All here, now to his temple draw near.
Today we have brought you the first portion of a message entitled A Call to Worship from Psalm 29. We see that God commands that we worship Him. That we reject all false gods, worshiping the one true and living God. Of course, man distorts this whole concept as he makes his idols and turns from what God has revealed about himself in the correct order of worship. But God calls us from error, calls us to the truth, calls us to worship Him.
And we should delight to give him praise and declarative glory. I hope that you will take time to write and let us know that you've listened today. Till next week at this same time, may the Lord richly bless you all. Raise through the mind. The Lord doth prosper thy I work and defend thee surely his goodness and mercy.
The Baptist Bible Hour has come to you under the direction of Elder Lessere Bradley Jr. Address all mail to the Baptist Bible Hour, Cincinnati, Ohio, 45217. That's the Baptist Bible Hour, Cincinnati, Ohio, 45217. Praise. The Lord, oh, let all that is in me adore him.
All that hath life and breath come down with praises before him. Let him our breath sound from his people again. That before it we adore him.
